Holistic life-cycle investigation of alternative fuel - ammonia

• Main Author: Sng, Dymtryk Wen Jun
• Other Authors: Chiu Sai Hoi, Benson
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2022
• Subjects: Engineering::Maritime studies
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/163806
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Climate change has been an increasingly pressing issue for the world, with Carbon Dioxide being the major culprit - accounting for over 79% of all greenhouse gas emissions. The Maritime industry accounts for over 80% of goods transported and it looks to grow even further. With this, emissions will also grow and at the moment, the industry is responsible for over 3% of the world’s total Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. If left unchecked, there will be dire consequences on the environment. The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has come up with a goal by 2050 to cut GHG emissions by at least half. With this, many industry players have begun adoption of operational measures such as slow steaming. Also, alternative fuels offering reduced emissions have been of great interest in recent times as a potential pathway to carbon neutrality and sustainability. One of the alternative fuels is Ammonia and this paper aims to evaluate the technical feasibility of Ammonia as an alternative fuel throughout its entire life cycle. To get an accurate understanding of the feasibility and obstacles faced, we collected primary and secondary to ensure that our findings were reliable and consistent. Primary data consisted of survey responses from over 50 respondents from various industries and our secondary data consisted of interviews from various members in the Maritime industry. The interviewees are: Mr Shane Balani from Lloyd’s Register, Mr Statmatis Achillas from Wärtsilä, Undisclosed from PSA and Maran Asia. Upon analysis of the data collected, the study found that there were many technical obstacles across the entire life cycle of Ammonia which includes the stages of production, storage & distribution and usage. Main issues in production were related to the flaws in the current process which included energy efficiency and ability to keep up with increased demands. For Storage & distribution, main issues were related to the network/infrastructure as well as storage conditions/space. Lastly the usage stage was the stage where most obstacles were found which includes combustion properties, compatibility with engines and power output. All in all, across the 3 stages, technical feasibility is found to be in the early stages and there are many uncertainties and obstacles to overcome. For the move towards Ammonia being increasingly feasible as a potential alternative fuel, the author has provided some recommendations. Some of which include stronger involvement of governments in terms of providing resources, infrastructure and encouraging innovation, involvement of industry players in terms of setting aside budgets and actively participating in trials and lastly, third parties such as individuals and insurance companies in terms of sharing risks and putting pressure on stakeholders respectively.